satyr

PRONUNCIATION:

(SAY-tuhr, SAT-uhr)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A lecherous man.
2. A man who has satyriasis: excessive and uncontrollable sexual desire. The female equivalent is nymphomania.
3. Any of several butterflies of the family Satyridae, having eyelike spots.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Satyr, a woodland creature in Greek mythology shown as having features
of a goat and a horse (pointed ears, horns, tail, etc.) and known for
lasciviousness. Earliest documented use: around 1374.

USAGE:

"Presiding like a twinkly satyr over this parade of sauciness and
silicone is Antoine de Caunes, the aforementioned Frenchman."
James Rampton; Sauciness and Silicone; The Independent (London, UK);
Sep 19, 1998.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Hundreds of hysterical persons must confuse these phenomena with messages from the beyond and take their glory to the bishop rather than the eye doctor. -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)